Friday, July 23, 2010

The boys and I leave tomorrow morning for Warren, Pennsylvania to visit family. My mom, who will be 90 in October, has recently experienced a couple of setbacks in her health -- anemia and glaucoma. Last week she was hospitalized for the first time since 1957, when my brother Dale was born.

"I feel like I become an old lady overnight," she said to me in a phone conversation earlier this week.

My brothers and I, along with Andy and Eddie's help, plan to reorganize and remodel the first floor of the house (the last photo in this series) to accommodate Mom's changing needs.

The following photos were taken in October 2008.

Warren County Courthouse

The Point (at Pennsylvania Avenue East and Second Avenue

Liberty Street (the heart of Warren's business district back in the day).

Link to July 22 The Leader article, "Rutherford Public Library may have to close for six weeks".

Excerpt:Even as its supporters continue to fervently lobby the Rutherford Borough Council for more money, the Rutherford Public Library is bracing for budget cuts. The library’s board of trustees has prepared an impact statement describing how it will cope if the borough reduces its funds by a certain percentage.

A 30-percent reduction in borough funding, as proposed by the council in its introduced budget, would threaten the library’s position in the Bergen County Cooperative Library System, by reducing its hours below state-mandated levels, the impact statement indicates.

“I never thought in my career that I would see the day where I was begging for a 10-percent cut,” said Library Director Jane Fisher at the Tuesday, July 13 meeting of the borough council. “But, I am begging on behalf of your residents, and your borough workers.”

State law requires that libraries in municipalities of Rutherford’s size be open 45 hours per week, including some weekend and evening hours, according to the board’s report. With a 30-percent reduction in municipal funding, that would not be possible.

Excerpt: The Wylie Agency has signed a deal to bring the e-book editions of 20 classic titles, including Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, exclusively to Amazon’s Kindle Store for two years, the company announced Thursday.

The future of e-book distribution = ...a long line of disagreements...

What this means for readers = ...a frustrating future in e-book purchasing...

Link to July 23 New York Times article, "With Voters Angry, More of the Rich Run as Populist Outsiders".

Excerpt:When Jeff Greene, a k a the Meltdown Mogul, recently brought his Democratic campaign for the United States Senate to a poor Miami neighborhood rife with the kinds of subprime mortgages that he became a billionaire betting against, did he:

A) Arrive in a Cadillac Escalade S.U.V., before stumping for energy conservation;

B) Tell the crowd that he was “fed up and frustrated” with Washington while suggesting job-creation ideas previously proposed by Washington politicians;

C) Receive a raucous welcome as an outsider who could turn Florida around.

The answer? All of the above, of course.

Call it the Great Recession paradox. Even as voters express outrage at the insider culture of big bailouts and bonuses, their search for political saviors has led them to this: a growing crowd of über-rich candidates, comfortable in boardrooms and country clubs, spending a fortune to remake themselves into populist insurgents.

The number of self-financed candidates has crept up the last few election cycles, and this year seems to be on pace for another uptick.

Link to July 23 Boston Globe hyperlocal news, "A library tells a story of its own".

Excerpt:There's A wonderful line in Proust when the narrator’s grandmother, describing the steeple of the local church, says, “If it could play the piano, I am sure it would really play.’’ Some buildings are like that: they have a personality that goes beyond mere function and physical appearance. If you met the Malden Public Library at a party, you would come away feeling that you’d met an eloquent character who really knows how to tell a story. The library would tell you a lot about what America was like and how it has changed. It would speak about the history of architecture and art, of industrialism and philanthropy, of immigration, of economics, of literature and technology. And it would tell you about the hard choices that go into running a popular public institution in changing times.

[snip]

At a time when information is digitized, when the internet makes everything virtual, when the future of libraries and books is fiercely debated, this encounter with the Malden Public Library is a reminder of the importance of the library as a real place. A library isn’t just one place, it is many places, with many stories, many meanings, and many possibilities for the future.

Link to July 23 Green Bay Press Gazette guest column by Dan Linssen, "Take the time to know your candidates".

Excerpt: Complaining about politicians is a national pastime. We blame them for everything, then whine that the country is "headed in the wrong direction."

But who puts these people in charge? Who gives them the authority to make and enforce our laws? We do. And we do a pretty lousy job of it. More effort goes into qualifying and selecting a waitress at the local truck stop than we put into selecting people to lead our government. (As a consequence, most truck stops have pretty good waitresses.)

Recently, South Carolina voters hopefully embarrassed themselves by electing Alvin Greene as their Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. If you don't know who Alvin Greene is, then you really need to brush up on what's happening to our democratic process. But you're not alone, because apparently the 59 percent of voters who elected him didn't know who he was, either.

Note: The "Appleton City -- Winnebago County" percentage is likely to be an anomaly due to an unusually small sample. Or it could also be a misprint. The unemployment rate for the entire Appleton area is 10.1%.

Excerpt:"Dragons, Dreams and Daring Deeds" is this year's theme, and children have been learning about medieval times since the program kicked off in June. Since then, more than 1,500 adults and children have signed up for the program.

In addition to building catapults, the youngsters have learned about tapestries, knights, gothic calligraphy and more.

For 7-year-old Sophie Shackelford, one of the highlights of the July 14 event was making her own catapult to launch a button. After fixing a sticky-tape problem, she launched a marshmallow more than four feet.

The self-described parent-teacher organization mom said it may be more overwhelming than raising money for playground equipment, but she ranks stocking shelves of the county’s new library before it opens next year as possible with hard work and determination.

From the webpage description:The building will be three (3) floors with each floor covering approximately 9000 square feet for a total of 27,000 square feet and it will house the Sheriff and County Clerk on the first floor; the Judge Executive, County Attorney, Child Support, and PVA Office on the second floor; and the Library on the third floor.

Excerpt:Before the Prospect Reading Center opened eight years ago, residents who wanted to borrow a library book had to travel 10 miles to Middletown or pay a $24 fee to use the Oldham County library in Goshen.

The reading center was a project of former Mayor Lawrence C. "Lonnie" Falk, who died in 2006. It opened in City Hall with 1,350 books in March 2002. Today, it has 3,200 titles and is known as the Lawrence C. Falk Library.

Officials hope calling it a library rather than a reading center will clear up some confusion, said Paul McAllister, chairman of the library committee .

Excerpt: Netflix subscribers are continuing to consume more and more of their video content online, with 61% of them watching at least 15 minutes of streaming video during the company’s second quarter.

That’s nearly double the number of subscribers doing so last year (37%) and a decent bump from the company’s first quarter, where 55% watched at least 15 minutes using the Watch Instantly service.

Netflix is one of the reasons -- Retiring Guy hesitates to make this confession -- that my older son's library card has expired. (But then I did catch him reading today -- a book from his personal library.)

Excerpt:On Tuesday, Councilman Todd Scalzo said there's no need for the law because library board members agreed to reopen the facility from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Fridays beginning in September.

"This ordinance can't be any more unnecessary," Scalzo said. "As far as I am concerned, the issue is totally moot."

Still, Councilman Howard Levine said he believes the ordinance is necessary and should go to a vote Aug. 2.

"I think the vote will provide some finality on this issue and give direction to the library for the future," Levine said. "Then we can all move on."

The proposed ordinance was drafted after city council members strongly criticized the library board for implementing Friday closures to make up for a $300,000 budget cut.

Some council members said they wanted to make it easier to remove library trustees who ignored the city's wishes. So in addition to restoring Friday hours, the proposed ordinance would reduce the term of future library board members from three years to two.

Library board President Colleen McLaughlin called the ordinance "nonsensical" and "unenforceable."

Link to July 21 Los Angeles Times article, "Bell council seeks resignation of 3 city officials".

Excerpt: Rizzo earns nearly $800,000 a year, making him the highest paid city manager in California and possibly the nation. Adams makes $457,000 — 50% more the Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck — and Spaccia makes $376,288, more than the top administrator for Los Angeles County.

The salaries, revealed by The Times last week, sparked protests in the small, predominantly working-class town southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

The sources, who spoke to The Times on the condition that they not be named because of personnel rules, said attorneys for the city are in talks with attorneys for the three administrators.

For demographic information about Bell, California (population 36,664) go to this link.

Link to July 21 Charlotte Observer article, "Book stores to help libraries".

Excerpt:To help out, 18 bookstores in the greater Charlotte area have agreed to hold their own three-day book sales and give a portion of profits to the library's book-buying fund.

"Customers will be asked if they're interested in supporting local libraries, and if they're interested, 10 percent of their purchases for that day will go to the libraries," said Edward Lee, general manager of the Books-A-Million at Concord Mills Mall.

Excerpt:Before the arrangement was ruled improper in mid-1999 by the then-city solicitor, Shelkrot was receiving a "supplemental retirement benefit" from the nonprofit foundation.

Then, after the Free Library Board of Trustees was unable to get Shelkrot a raise in 2000, he began receiving "periodic bonuses," according to a legal opinion from Smith to Chief Integrity Officer Joan Markman.

Smith wrote that the library's board of trustees was "determined to get around that prohibition and continue to pay Mr. Shelkrot the extra compensation that the Board believed he deserved."

Link to July 20 Wisconsin State Journal article, "Wisconsin's average state, local taxes and income per person are below U.S. average".

The average Wisconsin resident paid $40 less in state and local taxes and had an income almost 6 percent less than the average American in 2008, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the Wisconsin Budget Project.
Revenue collected in Wisconsin is further below the national average if all state and locally generated revenue is accounted for, including fees and taxes. The state and local government revenue in Wisconsin was $6,152 per person, $236 below the national average.

In per capita federal revenue, the state received $1,310 per person compared with a national average of $1,582. Wisconsin's ranking in per capita federal revenue dropped to 46th from 35th in 2000.

The analysis also found state and local government spending per capita was $7,541 in 2008 — 4.4 percent below the national average — which brings the state down to a ranking of 22nd. Wisconsin was ranked 12th in 2000.

In state and local taxes relative to income, Wisconsin went from 4th in 2000 to 13th in 2008.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Link to July 20 Capital Times article, "Redistricting means Dane County may gain Legislative seats".

Excerpt:Thirty square miles surrounded by reality.

Since the phrase was first muttered 30-plus years ago by one-term Republican Gov. Lee Dreyfus, the geographic footprint of the capital city has more than doubled. As Madison's borders expanded, so did its population and that of Dane County.

In politics, population leads to regional power. The more people there are living in an area, the more representatives those residents are entitled to in the Legislature, which is why news that Dane County's population has increased by 50,000, enough to warrant greater representation in the Capitol, may be a hard pill to swallow for some lawmakers.

Well, lookie here!

Source: Wisconsin Blue Book, 2009-2010

The population increases in Wisconsin's reliably conservative counties outpace Dane County. How about that?!

Link to July 20 Los Angeles Times article, "L.A.'s city libraries eliminate Sunday and Monday hours".

Excerpt:Libraries throughout Los Angeles were shuttered Monday as service cuts made in response to the city's budget woes took effect.

The Los Angeles Public Library system dropped to a five-day-a-week schedule, with doors closed Sunday and Monday. The system includes the Central Library downtown, eight regional libraries and 64 branches.

The reduced schedule comes after the city cut $22 million and 328 full-time positions from this year's library budget.

Many of the jobs eliminated were vacant or early-retirement positions, but the library system also sent layoff notices to more than 100 employees three weeks ago, library spokesman Peter Persic said. Those laid off included 20 full-time librarians.

The move to a five-day week, which library system commissioners approved June 10 in response to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's proposed budget cuts, was the third reduction in library service hours since December.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Excerpt: Mayor Dana L. Redd is slashing more than two-thirds of city funding for Camden's libraries, a move that could close all three branches.

In the best-case scenario, according to a library board member, one library would remain open with limited hours and a skeletal staff.

But all three branches could shut down, leaving many children in New Jersey's poorest city with no place to do homework, and cutting off Internet access for residents looking for jobs.

"That's a distinct possibility," said board member Frank Fulbrook.

Last fiscal year, the libraries operated on $935,000 from the city, plus $88,000 in state aid. This fiscal year, which began July 1, the library will receive $281,666.64, about a third of what the library board requested, according to a letter Redd sent to the library's board of trustees last week. Part of that money, about $20,000, was already spent last fiscal year.

Excerpt: 3D TV is a work in progress, and it will be slow to develop as a mainstream product. But there are two market segments that may adopt it quickly. The first is gaming. 3D games deliver an amazingly immersive experience. The other is the adult movie industry. Sources tell me that X-rated movie studios are the major buyer of 3D TV movie making equipment. The sad reality is that the adult industry drove the first major wave of VCR sales. It may well drive the first wave of 3D TVs, as well.

Link to July 19 San Jose Mercury News article, "Kindle cruel to poetry".

Excerpt:Billy Collins, one of the country's most popular poets, had never seen his work in e-book form until he recently downloaded his latest collection on his Kindle.

He was unpleasantly surprised.

"I found that even in a very small font that if the original line is beyond a certain length, they will take the extra word and have it flush left on the screen, so that instead of a three-line stanza you actually have a four-line stanza. And that screws everything up," says Collins, a former U.S. poet laureate whose "Ballistics" came out in February.

When he adjusted the size to large print, his work was changed beyond recognition, a single line turning into three, "which is quite distressing," he adds.

Poetry, the most precise and precious of literary forms, is also so far the least adaptable to the growing e-book market.

Excerpt:Iowa City Police are asking for help finding three teens who vandalized the Iowa City Public Library.

Back on April 25, 2010 between 4:51 p.m. and 4:53 p.m. surveillance cameras at the Iowa City Public Library captured three males in the alley spray painting the outside of the building. The three suspects appear to be white males in their early teens and they were riding skateboards.

The multi-colored spray paintings may say “South East Side Crime Bang Bang”.

Link to July 19 New York Times article, "Policing the Web's Lurid Precincts".

Excerpt:With the rise of Web sites built around material submitted by users, screeners have never been in greater demand. Some Internet firms have tried to get by with software that scans photos for, say, a large area of flesh tones, but nothing is a substitute for a discerning human eye.

The surge in Internet screening services has brought a growing awareness that the jobs can have mental health consequences for the reviewers, some of whom are drawn to the low-paying work by the simple prospect of making money while looking at pornography.

“You have 20-year-old kids who get hired to do content review, and who get excited because they think they are going to see adult porn,” said Hemanshu Nigam, the former chief security officer at MySpace. “They have no idea that some of the despicable and illegal images they will see can haunt them for the rest of their lives.”

“There’s an ongoing cultural fascination with this rich drama that plays out in your own home,” said Lucy Kaylin, who did dozens of interviews for her 2007 nonfiction book, “The Perfect Stranger: The Truth About Mothers and Nannies” (Bloomsbury).
Most women (and men) work because they have to, Ms. Kaylin said, so “the completely out-of-touch idle rich lady bossing around an immigrant is becoming cliché,” Ms. Kaylin said. At the same time, “race is a huge issue, for sure,” she said. “The women I interviewed found themselves confronting biases in ways that shocked them.”

Excerpt:City Council granted the New London Library/Museum Board authorization to choose a future site for a library, during a special meeting held last week. The motion, which passed 7-3, did not include any financial commitment from the City.

Some council members were hesitant.

Alderwoman Lori Dean was skeptical, stating she thought her constituents would be upset over the vote. "I've had several calls from residents saying they don't want a new library," said Dean.

[Sound of alarm clock blaring.] Lori, it seems as though "several" of your constituents would be upset with ANY vote on where to site a new library.

Excerpt: The New Lisbon Common Council and Library Board discussed options for an improved library at a special meeting Thursday night.

According to city Administrator Ed Kaelin, the existing building housing the New Lisbon Memorial Library has "a lot of deficiencies," including a leaking roof and inadequate access to updated technology.

Early discussions mainly centered around the need for a brand new library building, which Kaelin said is still one of many options the council is mulling over.

"That's not off the table," he said. "You just have to explore every possible option."

Among those possibilities discussed at the meeting were expanding and repairing the existing facility and building an addition to New Lisbon City Hall to create a municipal complex housing the library.